Description: PC0002 Image no. 124. Road and rocks at foot of Crested Peak eastern slope of western summit. Photographic series documenting construction of the Central Pacific Railroad, 1866-1869. Also in Mayer & Vose 1975 book Makin' Tracks, p. 38.
Photographer/artist: Alfred A. Hart
Date taken: 1860s
Photo location: Donner Pass
Type: photo
Subject: Transcontinental Railroad Construction
County: Placer
Source: Stanford Collection
References:
Contributor: Stanford Libraries
Notes: Original image is 3.7 MB. HCS 1/10/22. Image at Stanford site. See also Goldbaum and Huffman's 2012 book, Waiting for the Cars, p. 252. In this photo, the wagons are westbound, heading to Cisco. The authors note: "Hart made this view of the wagon road somewhere between Donner Pass and Donner Lake in the summer of 1867. ... They all appear to be empty freight wagons. Note that traffic is on the left-hand side of the road. Generally, wagon drivers, with their whip in their right hand, sat on the right-hand side of the seat so their whip would swing clear of their wagon. Because they preferred to meet oncoming wagons on their side of the wagon, they ran to the left of opposing traffic."
They continued: "This roadway was built by the CP-controlled Dutch Flat & Donner Lake Wagon Road Company. [DFDLWR] The original trail, used by the Donners and various parties before them, ran up the opposite side of the ravine, crossing the eventual railroad line somewhere between tunnels nos. 7 and 8, near the site of the 1914 underpass. That older wagon route was abandoned several years before the railroad was built for an easier route up Coldstream Valley to Coldstream Pass and Roller Pass."
See also John R. Signor's 1985 railroad book, Donner Pass, p. 12, which talks about freighting wagons and teams over Donner Pass. See also DSHS00095, DSHS340 about DFDLWR.
Rights: NOT FOR SALE; research only
Identifier: AAH0018
Serial Number: 2072
Donation: Alfred A. Hart Collection (AAH) collection (#34)
